Automatic means for making special cardboard containers



June 30, 1953 L. D. OVERLAND ET AL AUTOMATIC MEANS FOR MAKING SPECIAL CARDEOARD CONTAINERS 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 15, 1950 June 30, 1953 L. D. OVERLAND ET AL AUTOMATIC MEANS FOR MAKING SPECIAL CARDBOARD CONTAINERS 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 15, 1950 INVENTOR.

June 30, 1953 D. OVERLAND ET AL AUTOMATIC MEANS FOR MAKING SPECIAL CARDBOARD CONTAINERS 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Feb. 15, 1950 June 30, 1953 L. D. OVERLAND ET AL AUTOMATIC MEANS FOR MAKING SPECIAL CARDBOARD CONTAINERS 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Feb. 15, 1950 Patented June 30, 1953 AUTOMATIC MEANS FOR MAKING SPECIAL CARDBQARD CONTAINERS Leo D. Overland, Brooklyn, and Jack W. Levine, Bayside, N. Y.

Application February 15, 1950, Serial No. 144,271

1 Claim.

This invention relates to an apparatus for making cartons from cardboard blanks and particularly cartons for icecream sandwiches. It was considered desirable to have channels in these cartons, preferably formed by suitably bending the walls of the carton, for the insertion of ice cream wafers.

Difiiculties were experienced in the shaping of these channels, since the cardboard is elastic and does not readily retain the shape into which it has been pressed. It was found that any bend, to be permanent, must be exaggerated while heat is applied. Hence, to secure, for instance, a right-angle bend in a cardboard, the bend is folded over to a much larger angle, even by 180 degrees, i. e., it is folded over entirely and pressed in this position. When released it will then retain the bend.

A further problem was the folding-up of the cardboard carton, which it was intended to do fully automatically to secure speed of operation as well as uniformity of result. The bending of the cardboard blank on predetermined lines which may be weakened is accomplished and two sides of the fiat blank pasted together so as to form a container.

"The method and apparatus according to this invention provide channels in the walls at any desired location, form-up the container from the fiat blank, and paste the margins together where necessary.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in conjunction with the following specification and drawings in which:

Fig. la is a top view of the first section of a die rolling machine according to one embodiment of this invention and a carton blank;

- Fig. 1b is a top view showing the continuation of the die rolling machine shown in Fig. 10.;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view on line 2--2 of Fig. 1a and a carton blank;

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view on line 3--3 of Fig. 1a and a carton blank;

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional View on lined-4 of Fig. 1a and a carton blank in position;

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view on line 55 of Fig. 1a and part of a carton blank;

Fig. 6 is a. cross-sectional View on line 66 of Fig. 1b and a carton blank;

Fig. of Fig. 1b and a carton blank;

Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view on line 8-8 of Fig. 1b and a carton blank;

Fig. of Fig. lb and a carton blank;

7 is a cross-sectional view on line 'I---'! 9 is a cross-sectional view on line 9-9 Fig. 10 is a front view of the glue applying rollers at line lflio in Fig. 1b and a cross-sectional view of a carton;

Fig. 11 is a front View, partly in section, at line H-i I of Fig. lb;

Fig. 12 is a top view of part of a die rolling machine according to another embodiment of this invention and a carton blank;

Fig. 13 is a cross-sectional view on line I 3-| 3 of Fig. 12 and part of a carton blank; 7

Fig. 14 is a cross-sectional view on line [4-44 of Fig. 12 and part of a carton blank;

Fig. 15 is a front view at line l5-l5 of Fig. 12 and part of a carton blank in section;

Fig. 16a is a top view of part of an apparatus according to still another embodiment of this invention;

Fig. 16b is a top view of the continuation of the apparatus shown in Fig. 16a;

Fig. 17 is a cross-sectional View on line |l-l1 of Fig. 160.;

Fig. 18 is a side view, partly in secti0n,'on line 18-18 of Fig. 16a and a carton blank; I

Fig. 19 is a top view, partly broken away, of an apparatus according to a further embodiment of this invention;

Fig. 20 is a side view,'par'tly in section, on line 20-20 of Fig. 19 and a carton blank;

Fig. 21 is a cross-section on line 2l2l of Fig. 20;

Fig. 22 is a cross-sectional View illustrating a modification of the embodiment of the apparatus shown in Fig. 19; and

Fig. 23 is a perspective View of a carton with channels produced according to this invention.

Referring to Fig. 1a, a series of preformed carton blanks connected by perforated or otherwise weakened lines I is fed into the die rolling machine by means of feed rollers, such as 2. Each carton has four side walls, 3, i, 5 and 8, a flap 7 to be pasted onto the outer margin of side wall 6 when the carton is formed-up, and a lid 8 provided with a flap e which is tucked inside the carton when the lid is closed.

Referring also to Fig. 2, the side walls 5 of the carton blanks are advanced by guide rollers Ill, mounted on rotatable shafts ii and Hi. It will be seen that a series of pairs of shafts H and is are rotatably supported by brackets l6 mounted on a base ll. The motor-driven chain 26 rotates the wheels 59 rigidly connected to shafts H. Driving gear wheels 2i on driven shafts l l cooperate with driven gear wheels 22 to rotate the lower shafts l8. Further each of shafts I! and 58 is provided with a steam pipe 23 for heating of the dies supported by the shafts.

Die rollers l2 and i3 press side wall 3 of the carton into an arcuate central section [4 bounded by shoulders having flat sections l5 which form an acute angle with the central section [4.

Several identical stages may be supplied, if necessary, though only one stage is illustrated for this as well as the following operations.

Fig. 3 shows the next die rolling profile. The central section of the profiles of dies 24 and 25 are identical with those of dies I2 and [3. However, further two acute angles are die rolled into the carton wall 3, separating the fiat sections from newly formed slanting sections 26.

The subsequent stages are provided with narrow advance rollers 28 curved to fit the arcuate section [4 of wall 3.

Die roller 21 is of identical shape with die roller l2 and cooperates with a further die roller, not shown, identical with die roller 13, to impress arcuate and flat sections, corresponding to sections l4 and I5, in wall 5 of the cardboard blank. Similarly, die roller 29 of identical shape with die roller 24, cooperates with a die roller, not shown, to give the wall 5 a shape identical with that of wall 3 obtained between die rollers 24 and 25.

Referring now to Figs. 1, 4 and 5, advance rollers 29 and 3!] push the carton blank between the guide plate 31 and the support 32 mounted on base I! by means of the central leg 34. Bending guides 33 extend horizontally where they engage the walls 3 and 5 of the cardboard carton and graduallyswing downwards to extend vertically where the walls leave that section. It is the purpose of these bending guides to form-up the carton by bending the blank at the lines, which may be weakened, between walls 3 and 4 and walls 4 and 5, respectively.

Fig. 1b is a continuation of Fig. 1a and illustrates the subsequent forming operations in conjunction with Figs. 6 to 11.

Alternately arranged forming rollers 36 cooperate with flanged rollers 35, see Figs. 1b and 6, to impress the previously formed channels in walls 3 and 5. The support 31 is also profiled to accentuate the channels in these walls.

In the next step, illustrated in Figs. 1b and 7, the bending guide 38 folds the line extending between the wall 3 and the flap 1. The bending guide 38 is shaped similar to the bending guides 33, however, its effective sections are located below the support 32 and it starts from a vertical position gradually changing to a horizontal position; Fig. 7 illustrates an in-between state, as will be observed from the location of the dotted line 'l'l in Fig. 1b.

Fig. 8 in conjunction with Fig. 1b illustrates the application of glue from the glue container 4| by means of the rotating wheel 39 onto the flap I, the flap being held against upward movement away from wheel 39 by wheel 40.

Wall 6 is now moved upward and towards the glued side of flap I by guide 4IA, shown in Figs. 9 and 1b. This guide is constructed according to the same principle as guides 33 and 38.

Two rollers, 42 and 43, Figs. 10 and 1b, now press the wall 6 against the glued side of the flap 'l to secure good adhesion of these parts.

The motor 44 drives the chain over the transmission 45, 46, 41 and 48, as shown in Fig. 1b.

Figs. 11 and 1?) illustrate the severing of two adjacent cartons along the preformed line between the fiap 9 of the first carton and the wall 4 of the subsequent carton. A guide 49 holds the wall 4 againstthe support 32, while a cutter 50 is moved downward by any suitable means, not shown, as the springs 5| are compressed, separating the two cartons along the line I.

In the embodiment of this invention illustrated in Fig. 12, the first two stations on the die rolling machine correspond to the first two channel-forming stations shown in Fig. 1a. However, a further pressing operation, Figs. 12 and 13, between a support 53, provided with shaping edges 54, and a shaping plate 55 serves to bend and tightly fold the channel walls formed in wall 3.

Figs. 14 and 12 illustrate the holding plate 56 preserving the folds in wall 3 in conjunction with support 53 untilthe folded wall is further pressed by rollers 51, Figs. 15 and 12, bending all previously impressed folds to nearly a 180 degree position so that these folds will be certain to retain their shape.

The further steps in this embodiment are identical with those of the embodiment previously described in connection with Figs. 1a to 11, except that a further pressing operation will be inserted to securely bend the folds impressed in wall 5.

Figs. 16a to 18 illustrate further features which may be incorporated in a die rolling machine according to this invention.

Figs. 16a and 17 show a feeding mechanism for a stack of separate carton blanks 58. The reciprocating feeder 59, operated by any suitable mechanism, not shown, pushes each carton 58 until its movement is arrested by stop 62. The carton is then in a position to be gripped by the guiding bands 60 and 6! actuated by rollers 63, respectively.

In this embodiment, the first operation is the bending of the predetermined separation lines between walls 3 and 5 and wall 4. Bending guides 84, extending first horizontally above the location of the walls 3 and 5 to be bent and gradually swinging to a vertical position as the carton is moved along the support 65, perform the bending operation.

. The channel-forming operation, Figs. 16a and 18, is done by die rollers 38, 61, 68, 69, 10, H, Hand 13 which are similar to die rollers l2, I3, 24, 25, 2'! and 29 of Figs. 1a, 2 and 3. However, in the present embodiment, the die rollers are mounted and rotatable on verticle axles, such as 14 and I5. Axle 14 is driven by toothed wheel 16 and chain 11, while the axle supporting die roller ll carries a toothed wheel which is driven by a chain 19 actuated by the toothed wheel 18 on axle 14. The supporting axles for the die rollers 68 and 68 are similarly driven, by a toothed wheel and chain arrangement 8|, 82, 83, 84, and 86.

Fig. 16a further shows the bending guide 81 for the flap 7 and the following glue pot 88 and the wheel 89 cooperating with another wheel, not visible in Fig. 16a, to apply glue to flap I. These steps have been described in detail in conjunction with Figs. 1b, 7 and 8.

Fig. 16b illustrates the bending guide 90 for Wall 6 and the roller 9| cooperating in the pressing of flap 1 against wall 6 in the final step of the pasting of the carton. These steps have been described in more detail in connection with Figs. 1b, 9 and 10.

The motor 92 drives the chain 29 via the transmission 93, the Wheel 94 and the toothed wheel 95.

A further embodiment of this invention is illustrated in Figs. 19, 20 and 21.

After insertion of the carton blank into the die press, guides 96 bend walls 3 and 5 into a vertical position, as previously described. The channel-forming operation is simultaneously performed on both walls 3 and 5 in the following step illustrated in Figs. 19 and 20.

In this embodiment, a step-wise operation takes place. The carton blank is moved to each stage in the process, remains there until the action is completed, and is then advanced to the next stage. Hence motor l2l, driving chain 20 over transmission I22, wheel 123 and sprocket wheel I25, is intermittently operated by a suitably timed switch, not shown. The power press actuating the forming dies is synchronously controlled, for instance by a cam, not shown.

The carton is passed automatically onto a horn 91 and held in place by roller 98. The horn profiles l! cooperate with dies 99, secured to the die holders I00, in the formation of the channels. The die holders 100 are slidably mounted in the channels of supports I02, as illustrated in Fig. 21, and forced outwards by springs 103. The press-operated plunger I04 has two tapered extensions I85 sliding on the sloping walls [08 of the die holders I00, urging them inwardly against springs I53. This movement will cause the dies 99 to be urged against the forming profiles it! of the horn 91', thereby forming channels in walls 3 and 5 of the carton.

The further steps of bending iiap l by bending guide I91, providing glue thereon by glue pot I08 and wheel I09, bending wall 0 by bending guide I10 and completing the pasting of wall 6 onto flap 3 by wheel III are as previously explained.

Fig. 22 illustrates another embodiment, similar to that shown in Figs. 19 to 21, where the stamping of the channels is done before the bending downward of walls 3 and 5. Hence the carton blank is still in a horizontal position and the two walls 3 and 3 are located in the same horizontal plane.

The support H2 carries two dies 1 l3 and I [4 for the Walls 3 and 5, respectively. However, these dies are displaced in the direction of advancement of the carton blanks, since simultaneous formation of channels in both walls, 3 and 5, would tend to foreshorten and tear the material between these two walls. Hence, though simultaneously operative, the two dies H3 and H4 simultaneously shape the walls of diiferent, preferably adjacent, carton blanks. The press-operated plunger I04 carries the die holder H8 which in turn carries dies H9 and I20 having spring-loaded inserts I21 and I22, respectively.

It will be seen that the die rolling or forming press according to this invention may assume various different modifications.

Fig. 23 illustrates the finished carton, flap I pasted onto the margin of wall 5 and having two pairs of channels H9 and I20. This carton, formed by the method and apparatus just described, is made from a cardboard blank by roll forming. Channels are impressed and the carton is formed up along lines separating the walls of the carton; these lines may be weakened in the carton blank. Also, there may be provisions for gluing a fiap on one of the outermost side walls of the carton blank to the free margin of the other outermost side wall so that the side walls of the carton assume a closed shape. All of these steps are fully automatic, assuring speed of operation and uniformity of result.

It is understood that various modifications may be made in the form and arrangement of the elements constituting the embodiments illustrated and described without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is as follows:

A roll press for forming a channel in a cardboard, comprising a first pair of rotatably mounted, cooperating forming rollers and a second pair of rotatably mounted, cooperating forming rollers, the profile of one roller of the first pair of forming rollers having a central channel between two rounded shoulders, the bottom wall of said channel having an arcuate shape, the second roller of said first pair having a projection on its forming profile, said projection fitting into the channel of said first roller and having a fittingly curved bottom wall, the profile of one roller of said second cooperating pair of rollers having a central channel between two outwardly bevelled shoulders, said channel having an arcuate bottom wall, the second roller of said second pair having two channels located opposite and fitting onto the outwardly bevelled shoulders of said first roller and an arcuate central section fitting onto said arcuate bottom wall of said channel in said first roller, means for heating said forming rollers, and means for passing the cardboard between said first pair of rollers and then between said second pair of rollers in aligned positions, whereby first a channel with rounded shoulders is impressed upon the carton and subsequently a channel with bevelled shoulders is superimposed on the first formed channel.

LEO D. OVERLAND. JACK W. LEVINE.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 

